Letter: Reimagine how children stay connected to school | THE ROANOKE TIMES

by Corey Burres | Jul 19, 2021

Letter: Reimagine how children stay connected to school | THE ROANOKE TIMES

The June 8 Roanoke School Board meeting addressed student learning loss and post-pandemic reorganization.

As a Hollins University student and member of the Roanoke community, I care about access to education.

In my research, I found a study from the Georgia Center for Opportunity, illuminating that while white students have fallen one to three months behind, students of color nationwide have fallen at least three to five months behind in their education during the pandemic.

These results are almost identical to the learning gaps that result from student suspension and barriers to accessing academic support services, including the disproportionate impact on students and families of color…

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Inflation is running wild — poor and low-income Americans will be hurt the most | QUAD CITY TIMES

by Corey Burres | Jul 16, 2021

Inflation is running wild — poor and low-income Americans will be hurt the most | QUAD CITY TIMES

How can we help working families the most? Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is a popular solution, but it’s a short-sighted one given the reality that inflation — the silent assassin of Americans’ livelihoods, particularly for the poor — is now running the hottest it has in decades.

The Consumer Price Index has increased 5.4% since last year, as announced on July 13 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly rate was 0.6% in May but 0.9% in June. If this rate persists, our nation will experience double-digit inflation. A 0.9% monthly rate translates to an 11.4% annual rate, a level not seen since the 1970s….

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A renewed reason to celebrate this Fourth of July

by Corey Burres | Jul 15, 2021

A renewed reason to celebrate this Fourth of July

This year we celebrated our country and one of its biggest values…family.

For many the Fourth of July is more than just a celebration of our country’s birth—it is an opportunity to gather with family. An opportunity to connect and celebrate together. It feels like this past year, more than most, this was true as we came out of a period of social distancing and separation.

While many areas of our state refrained from large gatherings, most people returned to having small gatherings of family and friends. Picnics and backyard get-togethers returned and with them came improved social, mental, and relational health for many of our families and neighbors.

As we have discovered over the past 12-14 months, these previously mundane gatherings with family are much more important to our community and personal mental health than we may have realized. We have taken for granted the value and the connections we need to sustain our lives. And we have had a reawakening to the requisite relationships that ground us and support us through hard times.

It is why family is one of the pillars of the success sequence which models the tangible ways that we can make strides in addressing poverty. It is a recognition of the importance of the role family has in creating stability and support. It is why we must continue to value it and why, I believe, it is directly connected to our national identity.

The Success Sequence provides an outline of how to reverse the cycle of poverty in our communities.

But celebrating family happens outside of a single holiday (or even a nation). As the summer continues many of us will jubilantly gather and connect. It is as if the past year or so has reset our expectations and even our need to be with those we love.

I have seen many people recently post realizations of how much they missed being together and hugging someone. When it was part of our day-to-day, we just expected it. But since it was deprived from us for so long, we understand the importance of it.

Let us not forget the power of coming together. The strength we gain by being with one another and supporting each other. The power that comes out of family and relationships.

GCO Testifies Before U.S. House On Benefits Cliffs

by Corey Burres | Jul 13, 2021

GCO Testifies Before U.S. House On Benefits Cliffs

Examining the SNAP Benefit Cliff

On July 12, 2021, Eric Randolph, GCO’s Director of Research, testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations about how welfare programs often hurt the very people they are supposed to help.

In this video, you will see how benefits cliffs are complicated and often have unintended consequences that harm families, inhibit upward mobility, and dehumanize people trapped in generational poverty. And you will learn more about GCO’s Benefits Cliff Model helps hard-working individuals improve their circumstances with better opportunities to thrive and become productive members of their communities.

On July 12, 2021, GCO’s Director of Research, Erik Randolph, joined 3 others in providing testimony and answering questions on Benefit Cliffs.

Gov’t. check can’t beat work’s dignity | AJC

by Corey Burres | Jul 9, 2021

Gov’t. check can’t beat work’s dignity | AJC

The latest unemployment statistics are in and show trends continuing with millions of jobs across the nation going unfilled as unacceptably high numbers of Americans draw on generous unemployment benefits. On June 23, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported its unrevised May 2021 figures, showing a drop in the unemployment rate for Georgia from 4.3% in April to 4.1% in May.

The good news is that our state has fared much better than many others in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. States with more draconian restrictions — such as California — have had a much slower economic recovery.

Georgia’s rate is 16th-lowest in the country, beating out 34 other states. And the U.S. as a whole has a 5.9% unemployment rate, significantly higher than Georgia’s...

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